Portable fireproof vault.



No. 810,861. v PATENTBD JAN. 23, 1906.

W. H. HEDGES.

PORTABLE PIREPROOF VAULT.

APPLICATION FILED PEB.2.1904.

' s SHEETSSHEET 1.

with/e5 5 e s l/entor.

No. 810,861. PATENTED JAN. 23, 1906.

W. H. HEDGES.

PORTABLE FIREPROOF VAULT.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2, 1904.

Ei y.4.

witnesses In Van/tor.

3 SHEETS-SHBET 2.

PATENTED JAN. 23, 1906.

W. H. HBDGES.

PORTABLE PIREPROOF VAULT.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.Z. 1904 3 SHEETS-SHEBT 3.

'Z/Zitne sses Inventor.

WILLIAM H. HEDGES, OF KANSAS CITY, KANSAS.

PORTABLE FlP-YEPROOF VAULT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 23, 1906.

Application filed February 2, 1904;. Serial No. 191,750.

To all 10/1/0121, it Hui/y concern.-

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. H nnens, a citizen of the United States,residing at 650 Garfield avenue, Kansas City, in the county ofW'yandotte and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Portable Fire and Water Proof Vaults; and I do declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention pertains to improvements in fire and burglar proof safes,its object being to provide a portable fire and water proof vault soconstructed that it may readily be applied to any of the many forms ofburglarproof safes in common use and when so applied shall not onlyrender such safe fire and water proof, but shall also render it moreconvenient in use than if fireproofcd by any of the usual methods or ifplaced in the usual old form of vault for fire protection.

A further object of my invention is to so construct the portable vaultthat a safe being of definite size or proportions as to its height orwidth the vault shall have an appreciable degree of adjustability withincertain limits to the end that the same size vault may be applied to andmade to fit safes differing in size or shape, thus obviating thenecessity of lniilding a vault of an. exact size to fit each particularsafe.

I attain these objects by means of the novel forms and details ofconstruction given to the several parts of my portable vault, as will befully understood from the following specification, and illustrated bythe drawings, which accompany and form part of this application, inwhich Figure 1 is a plan view of the front or door side of my improvedportable fire and water proof vault, showing the approximate relativepositions of its several operating parts. Fig. 2 is a detailed plan viewof one of the screw-bolts by means of which the hinged side or door ofthe vault is tightly secured in place when closed to render the vaultwaterproof. Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the outside knob and itsconnecting-spindle by which the locking mechanism shown in Fig. 4 isoperated. Fig. dis a plan view of the hinged portion of mechanism bywhich the screw-bolts fastening the door .in place are locked againstturning to release it. Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the inner end ofthe key, showing the two projecting wards by which the two locking-bolts10 and 11 are both moved at once, but in opposite directions. Fig. 6 isa view of the spindle vnth exterior drop-handle for operating thelocking mechanism instead of knob, as shown in Fig. Fig. 7 is ahorizontal crosssectional view of the vault, showing the hinged side ordoor partly open and an outline of top of the inclosed safe. Fig. 8 is aplan view of the adjustable flange-casting or finish ing-plate whichsurrounds the front side of an inclosed safe, being of suitable width,extending from it to the metal walls of the vault, forming the innerstep of the flanged joint.

A special feature in the novel construction of my improved portable fireand, water proof vault is that the portion forming the door by which itis opened to afford access to the safe within consists of one entireside of the boxlike structure hinged at a vertical line in the sidewalls of the vault approximately flush with the front of the inclosedsafe. This the vault forming the door 18 telescopic or somewhat similarin form to the lid of a trunk in that when closed its side, top, andbottom edges are flush with the outer surfaces of the side, top, andbottom walls 'of the main portion of the vault. By this novelconstruction the open space between the inner wall of the trunk-lid formof door and the front wall of the inclosed safe in addition to forming adead-air space as a factor of the fireproofing also gives room for thespindle, knob, dial, or other device used for operating the lockingmechanism of the inclosed safe, such spindle, knob, or handle usuallyprojecting some distance beyond the front face of the safe. By thismeans the inclosed burglar-proof safe is so situated that when the sideof the portable vault forming its door is open the front face of theinclosed safe is directly accessible instead of being situated back in arecess, where from imperfeet light or the adjacent walls of the vaultits use is found inconvenient, as in most forms of combined fire andburglar proof safes, as also where burglar-proof safes are placed inoldstyle vaults for fire protection.

It will be understood that the outer walls of the portable vault are ofmetal, preferably ICO point by means of the mechanism shown in Fig. 4.It is also seen from Fig. 2 that the outside projecting ends of thesescrew-bolts where the wrench is applied to manipulate them are of muchlighter body of metal than the portion where the square notches of thelocking-bolts clamp and hold them in position. Hence any attempt totamper with them when they are locked would break ofi this square endwhere wrench is applied without forcing them loose from the lock.-This-feature has been introduced here as an additional element ofburglar-proofing.

Referring to the details of construction as shown in the drawings of theseveral figures and views, like reference letters and figures indicatelike parts in all the views.

In Fig. 1, 1 is the square projecting end of the screw -bolt. 2 is thecollar or flange forming part of the bolt. 6 is the dial of the lockingmechanism. 7 is the lever-handle by which the interior locking-bolts 10and 11 are operated. 9 is the adjustment-screw attaching both dial andlever-handle and by which the conical spindle 8 is drawn outward torender the joint around it waterproof.

In Fig. 2, 3 is the tapered round head of the screw bolt. 4 is itssquare ortion, which enters the square notch in the ockingbolts, and 5is its screw-threaded inner end, which meshes in the nut situated in themain portion of the vault.

In Fig. 3, 8 is the conical spindle extending from outer dial to innerlocking mechanism, a portion of its length being conical or tapering forpurposes hereinbefore explained. 9 is a washer situated between thedial-knob and the face of the metal outside wall 20 of the door In Fig.4, 10 and 11 are the two lockingbolts, secured in place by the studs 10and having a reciprocating motion to lock and unlock the screw-bolts, asoperated by the double-warded key 7 (Shown in Fig. 5.) Theselocking-bolts have thesquare notches 4, which embrace the square portion4 of the screw-bolts, as heretofore explained. 12 is the bolt ofthe'dial-lock, which being thrown forward from the position shown indrawings locks the locking-bolts 10 and 11 in place, but being thrown inopposite direction releases them, so.they may be thrown back by means.of the outside operating-handle 7 and the screw-bolts may be turned.

In Fig. 6, 7 is the operating-handle, 7 is its inner double-warded keyend, 8 is the conical spindle, and 8 is the screw-nut securing the keyin place on end of the spindle.

steel, and the main portion of such sizelarger than the safe proposed tobe inclosedthat the space between their walls may be filled in withfire-brick, plaster, or other suitable material of non-conductingproperties, and, if desired, a dead-air chamber may also be left as afurther element of fireproofing. The hinged portion or door of the vaultis also constructed with double walls, as shown in Fig. 7, and to bepacked with any of the. well-known heat-resisting substances, such asasbestos 14 plaster, &c.

Along the joints where the hinged side shuts against the edges of themain portion I provide steps forming angles in the joints as a featurefor better preventing the penetration of heat. The outer step of theflanged casting is packed with asbestos 14) as a further heat and waterproof protection at the joints between the door and the main body of thevault.

The adjustable feature of the vault, whereby it is adapted to be appliedto varying sizes of safes, consists in partially closing the front openside of the main portion with a flat flange-casting having an openingbetween its three parts somewhat larger than the lateral and verticaldimensions of the safe to be inolosed. This flange-casting is made inthree sections, as shown in Fig. 8, and the safe being in its properposition in the main portion of the vault the straight section 22 of thecasting is cut to a length equal to the width of the safe, and the twoangle-sections 23 23 are cut to length so their top short arms togetherequal the width of the safe, while their long side rails extend to loweredge of the bottom rail 22. Thus it will be seen that by the simplecutting of these sections of the finishing-plate the vault may beadjusted to fit safes differing materially in size or the relativeproportion of width to height. This flanged casting or finishing-plateextending from the outer walls of the safe to the metal walls of thevault covers and-incloses the fire-brick or other material used informing the fireproofing and also the dead-air space, if such has beenleft as a feature of the fireproofing, and presents a neat finishedappearance. This finishingplate is pierced with oblon openings 24 topermit passage through it o the screw-bolts, and being elongated theseopenings allow plates to be adjusted without obstructing free passage ofthe bolts. These screw-bolts passing through the door side of the vaultenter the nuts in the main portion, thus securing the door in place whenclosed, and they may thus be screwed down so tightly as to In Fig. 7 themain portion of the vault is render the joint between the two portionsof indicated by A, the hinged or door portion by the vault absolutelywaterproof, one of the B, and their connecting-hinge by O. Theinimportant objects of the invention. The closed safe S is shown byoutlines in position screw-bolts, as seen from Fig. 2, are so fashwithinthe main portion A, its front being ioned that when screwed down to thedeabout flush with the adjustable flange or finsired tension they may belocked at that ishing-plate 15 and its dial-knob and lock-opcratinghandle projecting forward into the dead-air space heretofore described.In this Fig. 7 the exterior metal walls of the vault are 13. The steppedflange-castings inclosing part of the front side are 14. The adj ustableflange-casting or finishing-plate is 15. A frame or band around theentire structure and covering the joint between the two parts A and B is16. 17 is a hollow casting in which is situated the nuts 19, into whichthe screw-bolts enter. 18 is a coil-spring giving automatic adjustmentto the screw-bolts. In the hinged. portion or door B, 20 is the exteriormetal wall and 21 is the interior metal wall, the space between the twowalls being filled in with asbestos or other suitable fireproofingmaterial. In Fig. 7 are also shown the flange-castings 14 and 145*, thecasting 14: being attached to the main portion of the vault A, while itsmate, 1 1, is attached to the hinged portion B, the two castings meshingwhen the door is closed and forming the angles in the joint. Theadustable flange or finishing-plate 15 is shown in enlarged details inFig. 8, in which 22 is the horizontal bottom rail or section of theplate; 23 23, the angle-sections forming the top and side rails. Thesections 23 are pierced with the openings 24, through which thescrew-bolts pass.

it will be seen that a portable fire and wa ter proof vault constructedaccording to my invention has many advai'itages. The user of a safe soprotected finds it convenient of access and its lockingdial in goodlight. It is not only fireproof, but also waterproof. The vault may beapplied to any form of burglar-proof safe already in use or on themarket. It is understood that the vault will be provided with wheels, sowhen applied to a safe the vault, with its inclosed safe, may readily bemoved to any desired position, as in a window or other well-lighted partof the room. This feature of ')ortability is regarded as an importantelement of the invention, it being well known that burglars and safeblowers prefer the mantle of darkness and the silence of surroundingvault-walls in an obscure place to the glare of light and an exposedplace in which. to perform their evil work. F or this reason thefireproof protection by the method I have devised becomes an additionalfactor in the problem of burglar-proof protection.

Having thus fully described my invention and pointed out its novel anduseful features, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by LettersPatent of the United States, is-

1.. A portable ire and water pro of vault for safes, composedessentially ofmain portion, A, and a door portion, B, connected bysuitable hinges, C said vault being of such size larger than the safe tobe inclosed therein as to leave vacant space between the inclosed safeand the walls of the vault for packing with suitable fireproofingmaterial said vault having between its main portion, A, and its door portion, B, a stepped flange-joint of the usual form, in which joint theadjustable coveringplate, 15, forms the inner or highest step, the outeror lowest step, 14, forming one wall, and the covering-band, 16, formingthe other wall of a channel or groove adapted to receive and retain inplace the asbestos packing, 14*, all substantially as, and for thepurposes shown and described.

2. In a portable fire and water proof vault for safes, composedessentially of a main portion, A, and a door portion, B, connected bysuitable hinges, O, the door portion, B, form.- ing one entire side ofthe structure, and having double walls as a feature of fireproofprotection, locking mechanism located between said walls and comprisingthe outside operating-handle 7, the interior locking-bolts l0 and 11,and the double-warded key 7 connected by the conical spindle 8, allsituated and coacting in the manner and for the purposes substantiallyas shown and described.

3. In a portable fire and water proof vault for safes, composedessentially of a main portion, A, and a door portion, B, connected bysuitable hinges, C, the fastening-bolt passing through the door portion,B, and having a square projecting end, 1 a collar, or flange, 2; aconical head, 3; a square intermediate portion, 4, engages the notches,a, of the locking-bolts 10 and 11, and a screw-threaded inner endportion engages the nut, 19, secured in the main portion, A, of thevault, all substantially as and for the purposes shown and described.

4:. In a portable fire and water proof vault for safes, composedessentially of a main portion, A, and a door portion, B, connected bysuitable hinges, C, a locking mechanism situated between the outer andinner walls of the door portion, B, by means of which the fastoning-bolts are secured against being unscrewed, said locking mechanismcomprising essentially the outside operating-handle, 7, the insidedouble-warded key, 7, the con necting conical spindle, 8, and thelockingbolts 10 and 11, having the square notches, 4 which mesh with thesquare portion, 4, of the fastening-bolts, substantially in the manner,and for the purposes shown and described.

5. In a portable fire and water proof vault for safes, composedessentially of a main portion, A, and a door portion, B, connected bysuitable hinges, the adjustable fiange-castii'ig or coveringplate, 15,preferably composed of three sections, thestraight section, 22, and thetwo angle-sections, 23, 23, said pieces being pierced with oblongopenings for the free passage through them of the fastening-bolts, allsubstantially in the manner and for the purposes shown and. described.

6. in a portable fire and water proof vault for safes, composedessentially of a main por- ICC IIO

tion, A, and a door portion B, conneoted by suitable hinges, C, thecovering-band, 16, at-

tached to the main portion, A, and projecting a suitable distance beyondthe base of the outer or lower step of the flanged castingjoint betweenthe two portions, A and B, to form with the side or riser of said step,a recess or cavity for receiving and retaining in place the asbestospacking, all substantially as and for the purposes shown and described.10 In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of twowitnesses.

WILLIAM H. HEDGES. Witnesses:

J. LEE KNIGHT, J OHN CovEr.

